Troops find P79.2m in Maute’s lair
Drug money, other sources eyed By Florante S. Solmerin and Sandy Araneta
M
ARINES recovered P79.2 million in cash and checks from a fallen Maute group house in Marawi City as fighting raged on, military officials said Tuesday. The troops first found P52.2 million in cash wrapped in plastic bundles and in envelopes inside a house near the Maute group’s machine gun nest in the Mapandi area, said Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla. The troops then found checks worth P27 million in the same house, all paid to cash. “The money and checks were duly secured and turned over to Headquarters Task Force Marawi,” Padilla said. Investigators are looking into the cash and checks to determine
if the Maute terrorists were being funded by foreign groups or “narco-politicians,” an intelligence
official who spoke on condition of anonymity said. Earlier reports said the terrorists ransacked several banks, including the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Philippine National Bank during the course of fighting, which entered its 15th day on Tuesday. The intelligence official said the terrorists had been using the cash to recruit civilians into their fold to fight the government Next page troops.
VOL. XXXI • NO. 113 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@thestandard.com.ph
Maute brothers’ patriarch arrested By F. Pearl A. Gajunera
CAPTURED. Cayamora Maute, father of the Maute brothers who
founded the terror group, was arrested along with four others at a security checkpoint on the way to Davao City yesterday. Photo shows him before and after his arrest.
SC to Palace: Reply to petition vs ML By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Malacañang and administrators of martial law in Mindanao to comment on the petition filed by opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives seeking to nullify President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of military rule. In its en banc session, the Court also set oral arguments on the petition on June 13, 14, and 15. Respondents in the case, led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, were also told to submit their comments on the petition on or before Monday, June 12 at noon. Before the oral arguments, lawyers from both sides must attend a preliminary conference
on the case on the same day, at 2 p.m. The Constitution allows the Supreme Court to the declaration of martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and must promulgate its decision within 30 days of the filing of a petition. Solicitor General Jose Calida, who will act as counsel for the public respondents in this case, has played down the petition, saying he expects the Supreme Court to dismiss the case. Calida said the claim by petitioners that there was no rebellion or invasion to justify the declaration of martial law was “a symptom of psychosis” and “detached from reality.” Calida also disputed the petitioners’ argument that President Duterte acted alone in declaring
DAVAO CITY—The father of the Maute brothers, Cayamora Maute, 67, along with four others were arrested by the Task Force Davao and police at a checkpoint in Sirawan, Toril, at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Police identified the four others as Norjannah Balawag Maute, daughter of Cayamora; Kongan Alfonso Balawag, second wife of Cayamora; Bengali Tingao, husband of Norjannah; and Aljon Salazar Ismael, driver. The martial law spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command, Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said the five suspects tried to enter Davao City through the Sirawan entry point using a Black Toyota Grandia. “At the checkpoint Cayamora’s body was covered with a blanket and his face was also wrapped in cloth. This raised the suspicion of the authorities,” Gapay said. Gapay said that when they were asked for identification, the
TERRORIST TROVE. Bundles of cash amounting to P57 million (top) and checks worth an
additional P27 million (above) are recovered by the military near a Maute group machine gun position in Mapandi District of Marawi City on Monday, even as government forces continued their bombing runs on the militants’ well-entrenched positions (below), causing smoke to rise from the rubble. AFP with photos courtesy of Raffy Tima of GMA News
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Govt bans deployment of workers to Qatar THE Philippines on Tuesday halted the deployment of workers to Qatar as the gas-rich Gulf state grappled with a diplomatic crisis after its neighbors cut ties with Doha. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said Manila was taking precautions as it feared that problems like food shortages could affect the more than 200,000 Filipinos in Qatar should the crisis worsen. Saudi Arabia and several of its allies on Monday severed relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism in the biggest diplomatic crisis to have hit the Middle East’s Gulf region in
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Graft court holds Misuari, co-accused from leaving By Maricel V. Cruz THE Sandiganbayan’s Third Division has issued a hold-departure order against former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Nur Misuari over the six criminal charges leveled against him that stemmed from his alleged fraudulent procurement contracts worth P115.22 million. The anti-graft court issued the order after the Office of the Ombudsman charged Misuari with three counts of graft and three counts of misuse of public funds. Misuari aside, the Sandiganbayan also issued hold-departure orders against his co-accused Director Leovegilda Cinches, MILF chief Nur Misuari
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years. Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Maldives also cut ties with Qatar, which Riyadh accused of supporting groups, including some backed by Iran “that aim to destabilize the region.” In the Senate, Senators Cynthia Villar and Nancy Binay urged the government to ensure the welfare and safety of the Filipino workers in Qatar. The Gulf states and Egypt said their diplomatic move included closing transport links with Qatar, which relies on imports from its Next page neighbors.
Aguirre: Lack of directional signs led to hotel tragedy By Joel E. Zurbano
‘SACRILEGIOUS RAMPAGE’. This video grab, which has gone viral
online, shows Maute gunmen in act of smashing a religious icon, one of the many destroyed at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Marawi City. The terror group also burned the church.
THE 37 victims of the attack on Resorts World Manila suffocated to death just a few meters from the fire exit, which could have taken them to safety had they been able to reach it to escape the burning casino complex, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Tuesday. He said the lack of directional signs might have made it difficult for the victims to escape the thick smoke engulfing the casino.
“The places where the 37 died―the comfort room and the high-rollers’ room―if they had gone straight ahead they would have found the exit,” Aguirre said citing information from the Southern Police District. Footage from the hotel and casino’s security cameras showed the gunman entering the gaming area, torching the gaming tables and slot machines and stealing gambling chips before committing suicide on the fifth floor of Next page the hotel.